#5l5 


Duke   University   Libraries 

The  camp  and  th 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #515 


SOLDIERS'  TRACT  ASSOCIATION,  )  No.  70, 

Richmond,  Va,  \ 

THE  CAMP  AND  THE  CROSS. 


It  was  Commencement  week  at  Wofford  College.  There 
was  an  address  to  be  delivered  to  the  alumni.  The  orator  se- 
lected for  the  occasion  was  a  former  graduate.  His  theme  was 
Patriotism,  and  from  it,  he  seamed  to  have  caught  inspiration. 
Eloquence,  chaste  yet  impassioned,  flowed  from  tois  lips,  and 
you  felt  that  the  speaker  was  ready  to  illustrate  practically, 
the  sublime  virtue  he  was  so  enthusiastically  portraying. 

Those  who  that  day  heard  him  exclaim,  u  God  grant,  that 
ere  Death's  scythe  shall  cut  me  down,  This  arm  may  strike  one 
blow  for  Southern  Rights,"  felt,  iu  after  times,  that*  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  eloquence  of  that  occasion,  was  akin  to  prophecy. 

The  date  of  that  address  was  nearly  five* months  antecedent 
to  the  passing  of  the  ordinance  of  secession  of  South  Carolina 
from  the  Northern  States,  but  the  ptfblic  mind  was  then  pre~ 
pared  for  the  momentous  action.  The  orator,  on  the  occasion 
of  which  we  hive  spoken,  was,  though  young  in  years,  an  old 
secessionist.  At  the  State  Convention  (held  in  June  of  that 
same  year  of  the  secession,)  of  which  he  was  a  member,  his 
spirit-stirring  speech  there  contained  this  sentiment :  "I  was 
a  secessionist  before  I  knew  what  the  word  meant,  except  re- 
sistance to  oppression." 

At  the  fist  call  for  volunteers  to  defend  his  State,  promptly 
did  he  respond.  lie  left  for  Charleston  2<1  January,  1861,  in 
the  first  company  sent  from  Columbia,  (the  artillery,)  com. 
manded  by  Capt.  Green.  The  night  before  he  left,  he  met 
around  the  family  altar  and  prayer  was  specially  made  for  hjm,. 

Kfc  fcafy  at  an  tfarly  age^  madfe  a  prO'ftfeeabn  bf  religion  ecm. 
1 


2  The  Camp  and  the  Cross. 

necting  himself  with  the  church ;  but,  by  the  temptations  of. 
college  life,  had  been  led  into  forbidden  paths  of  pleasure. 
Yet  we  always  felt  that  the  child  of  so  many  prayers,  though 
erring  and  straying  for  a  while,  would  surely  return  to  the  fold 
at  last.  Little  did  we  deem  by  what  way  he  was  to  be  led. 
How  could  we  think  by  that  most  unlikely  one,  the  camp  ? 
But  I  anticipate. 

His  mother  gave  him  a  Bible  which  he  pro#mised  her  to  read, 
and  which  afterwards,  by  the  marks  in  it  from  his  pencil,  she 
knows  he  di4  read  ;  and,  when  he  arrived  at  the  Fort,  his  des" 
tination,  on  opening  his  trunk,  which  was  sent  to  him,  the 
first  thing  that  his  eyes  must  have  lighted  on  was  a  paper  con- 
taining the  following : 

"  My  Beloved  Son} — In  the  day,  yea,  in  the  very  hour  you 

were  born,  I  gave  you,  soul  and  body,  to  God.     That  gift  I 

have  never  reclaimed,  but  a  thousand  times  have  I,  on  my 

knees,  with  a  full  heart,  renewed  it.     I  do  now  renew  that  gift. 

I  also  now  give  you  to  your  country,  humbly  praying  that  the 

God  of  your  father  may  be  your  God,  thattHe  may  makejou 

useful  to  your  country,  and  that  He  may  protect  you  and  save 

your  life;  or,  if  it  be  His  will  that  you  must  die,  that  He  will 

convert  and  save  your  precious  never-dyiug  soul. 

Your  affectionate 

Father." 

His  letters  home,  we  could  not  but  perceive,  were  written 
in  a  more  serious  vein  than  usual.  He  wrote  of  "praying," 
of  "tryiugtodo  his  duty  towards  God  and  man,"  of  "hoping, 
that  God  in  His  mercy  would  pardon,  his  sins,  for  Christ's 
sake."  Death  was  menacing  them  every  moment,  from  their 
exposed  situation  in  gun  range  of  Fort  Sumter.  Anderson 
had  threatened  to  open  his  guns  upon  them  if  they  fired  upon 
any  VetB'el  couairjg  iu.     £till  they  determined  upon  that  dur* 


The  Camp  and  the  Orois.  8 

ing  act,  which  they  soon  put  into #  execution,  firing  upon  the 
"Star  of  the  West."  Then  the  "Brooklyn"  was  expected 
in.  They  were  but  few  in  number,  and  at  that  time  poorly 
prepared  to  repel  the  force  that  likely  would  be  brought  against 
them  in  disputing,  her  passage.  Still  they  purposed  to  do 
this,  though  at  cost  of  their  lives.  Their  work  was  exceed- 
ingly arduous,  often  twenty-four  hours  on  duty,  and  exposed 
to  the  rain  and  sleet  of  mid-winter.  The  incessant  toil  and 
excitement  began  to  tell  upon  his  fine  constitution  and  hitherto 
uninterrupted  health,  but  the  long  night  watches,  and  lonely 
hours  in  the  hospital,  afforded  time  for  reflection,  and  the  im- 
minent clanger  of  death,  at  any  moment,  evinced  the  necessity 
of  prayer. 

After  a  night  of  great  exposure,  and  having  been  suddenly 
called  from  his  bed  to  his  gun,  he  was  taken  with  a  chill 
attended  by  some  fever.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
He  delayed  too  long  to  obtain  a  sick  furlough.  When  he  came 
home,  oh  !  what  a  wreck  !  how  different  from  the  gay,  gallant 
craft  that  had  left  with  streamers  and  pennons  flying,  to  the 
sound  of  martial  music  and  the  cheering  of  loud  huzzas! 

On  his  arrival  at  borne,  we  immediately  sent  for  a  physician, 
who  did  not  apprehend  a  very  serious  attack.  When  all  had 
left  the  room  but  his  another,  he  said  : 

"  Mother,  come  near  me,  I  want  to  kiss  you,  and  tell  you  I 
have  beeu  your  good  boy  ever  since  I  went  to  the  island. 
Mother,  1  am  coming  back  to  you." 

She  replied  : 

"  My  son,  I  have  aothing  to  complain  of  as  regards  myself, 
but.  you  know  you  have  wandered  far  from  your  father's  God." 

"Yes,  I  know  it,"  said  he,-  "but  I  am  coming  back  to  Him 
too." 

Stifling  her  emotion,  his  mother  said  : 

"  God  bless  you,  my  child,"*  but  did  not  encourage  him  to 

P34219 


4  T.he  Camp  and  the   Uro§*. 

converge  farther,  conscious  as  she  was  that  ho  needed  vest  and 
quiet,  but  afterwards  she  said  to  his  father,  "  do  take  an  op" 
portunity  early  to-morrow  morning  to  speak  to  W.  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion,  for  [  am  sure  he  desires  it." 

So,  early  the  next  day,  Sunday,  his  father  held  with  him  the 
following  conversation : 

"  My  dear  son,  it  may  be,  that  your  Heavenly  Father,  fore- 
seeing what  is  to  happen,  has  brought  this  sickness  upon  you, 
in  order  th^t  you  may  retire  awhile  from  the  bustle  and  ex- 
citement of  the  camp,  and  have  time  to  prepare  for  whatever 
is  to  come." 
He  replied : 

"Father,  I  have  been   praying  a  great  deal,  and  I  believe 
my  prayers  have  been  heard  and  answered,  and  I  believe  that 
if  death  now  comes,  I  shall  be  ready." 
His  father  replied  : 

"My  son,  a  preparation  for  death  is  the  best  preparation  for 
life.     Do  you  think  that  you  have  made  peace  with  God?" 
"Yes,"  said  he;  "I  have  b^en   trying,  and  think  I  have." 
On  Mom  ay  morning  his  father  said  to  him  : 
"  My  dear  son,  are  you  trying  to  look  to  God  ?" 
"  Yes,  father,"  said  he,   "  I  am  looking  to  God,  and   have 
been  looking  to  Him  for  some  time." 

"  My  turn.,  how  long  have  you  been  thinking  seriously  about 
your  soul  ?" 

"Nearly  ever  since  I  went  to  the  island.  I  would,  if  it 
were  God's  will,  rather  live  longer  to  see,  how  they  get  on  with 
the  Fort;  but  I  do  trustfully  in  God,  and  confide  in  my  Sa- 
viour.    He  will  do  what.-is  right." 

"  My  son.  you  know  perfect  resignation  to  the  will  of  God 
is  the  best  thing  for  the  body  as  well  as  for  the  soul*" 

k'Oh!.l  flu  i'eel  perfect  resignation  to  the  will  of  God— I 
have  no  fear  of  death — I  am  not  afraid  to  die." 


She  Camp  and  the  Oro89.  5 

Well  was  it  for  us  that  we  ha  J  these  satisfactory  assurances 
of  a  great  and  saving  change  having  taken  place,  for,  on  Mon- 
day evening,  the  delirium  of  typhoid  fever  came  on,  which 
never  entirely  left  him  until  soul  and  body  parted.  During 
all  those  hours  of  delirium,  the  two  themes,  religion  and  pa- 
triotism, were,  from  his  expressions,  alternately  and  uppermost 
in  his  thoughts,  his  military  phrases  and  the  language  of  Ca- 
naan, blendiug,  though  incongruously,  yet  to  us  most  affect- 
ingly,  for  we  knew  the  exercises  of  his  mind  that  had  given 
rise  to  them.  Once  he  said,  "  Father,  I  know  that  you  hav,e 
often  said  a  man  must  be  willing  to  give  up  all  and  leave  every- 
thing to  preach  the  gospel;  but  how  about  taking  that  Fort.? 
that  has  to  be  taken. " 

How  mysterious  are  God's  dealings  with  His  children  ! 
Our  prayers  are  answered  sometimes  in  the  strangest  way, 
still,  that  they  are  answered,  in  any  way,  let  us  be  grateful. 
When  his  parents  prayed  God  to  lead  their  child  back  to  the 
Saviour,  little  did  they  deem  it  was  to  be  by  the  camp,  for 
they  thought  that  a  place  of  peculiar  temptation  and  danger, 
for  both  soul  and  body,  which  belief,  nfl  doubt,  was  the  moans 
of  inciting  them  to  more  fervent  prayers  for  the  beloved  one 
so  exposed  to  its  influences.  The  gates  .of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  prayer,  and,  thank  God,  prayer  can  be  made,  heard 
and  answered  as  well  in  the  camp  as  in  the  pulpit. 

This  young  man  was  wreathed  with  buds  of  promise. 
Fame,  in  the  world  of  letters,  at  his  early  age,  twenty-three, 
had  already  placed  on  his  young  brow  a  fair  chaptet  of  laurel- 
He  had,  before  a  month's  service,  been  promoted  for  soldierly 
conduct.  Judge  Longsfreet,  President  of  the  South  Carolina 
College,  has  written  of  him  thus  : 

"His  last  public  address  was  on  Patriotism,  and  ihe  fast 
scene  of  his  life  was  a  beautiful  illustration  of  it  He  was 
among  the  first  to  volunteer  in  the   service  of  the  State  after 

d  O  /i  en  1  n 


ti  .    Tht   Camp  and  the   Croat. 

her  second  declaration  of  independence.  He  was  assigned  to 
the  defence  of  Fort  Moultrie.  Here  he  renewed  his  covenant 
with  his  Maker,  and  now,  uniting  in  himself  the  Christian, 
the  scholar  and  the  soldier,  he  discharged  his  duties  to  the  ad- 
miration of  all.  Called  suddenly  from. his  bed  to  his  gun  upon 
a  raw  and  chilly  night,  exposed  to  its  severities  through  many 
hours,  he  contracted  the  disease  which  terminated  his  exist- 
ence. He  lived  to  reach  the  paternal  home,  leave  his  parents 
the  last  consolation  in  their  bereavement,  and  died — the  first 
martyr  to  Southern  independence." 

OUT  ALL  NIGHT. 

Oat  all  night !   tlie  long  dark  night ! 

When  cold  and  wiutry  blew  the  blast; — 
It  seemed  the  night  v^ould  ne'er  be  past, 

Nor  ever  dawn  the  morning  light. 

'Call'd  from  his  sick  bed  to  his  gun, 
There  stood  he  at  his  duty'*  post, 
And  there,  altho' his  life  he  lost, 
He  there  immortal  honor  won. 

That  night's  sore  toil  his  life-blood  sappd — 
A  few  weeks  and  that  spirit  brave 
Lay  cold  and  lifeless  in  the  grave, 

All  in  funereal  silence  wrapped. 

Yet,  'tia  no  dim,  sepulchral  lamp 
That  lightens  up  that  lonely  tomb, 
Dispelling  every  cloud  of  gloom, 

Which  else  had  been  so  drear  and  damp. 

For  Fame  has  lighted  up  the  place, 
That  brightest  Fame  for  duty  done, 
And  Futh,  that's  brighter  than  the  sun, 

Enhaloes  it  with  rays  of  grace. 


The  Camp  and  the  Cross. 


THE  CAMP  AND   THE  CROSS. 


Pray  in  the  camp  !  yes,  in  the  camp 

God  hears  and  answers  prayer  ; 
What  though  the  place  to  kneel  is  damp, 

And  raw  and  chill  the  air; 
What  though  the  sun  pour  down  his  rays 

On  the  unsheltered  head, 
Yet  there's  the  place  the  God  of  grace 

Full  many  a  soul  hath  led 
Unto  the  Cross — the  blessed  Cross — 

The  Cross  of  Calvary  ; 
Thank  God  that  everywhere  on  earth, 

Our  eyes  that  Cross  "may  see. 

Our  God  is  not  coufined  to  p'ace — 

Not  to  the  temple's  dome 
Doth  He  restrict  His  grace, 

But  bids  His  kingdom  come, 
Wherever  there's  a  praying  heart. 

In  camp,  as  cloister-cell, 
To  the. praying  heart  He'll  grace*impart ; 

What,  to  Him,  where  we  dicell? 
So  that  in  view  wc  keep  the  Cross — 

The  Cross  of  Calvary  ; 
Thank  God  that  everywhere  on  earth 

Our  eyes  that  Cross  can  see. 


The   Camp  and  the   Cross. 


THE  STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM. 


"When  marshalled  on  the  nightly  plain, 

The  glitt'ring  host  bestud  the  sky, 
One  star  alone  of  all  the  train 

Can  fix  the  sinner's  waud'ring  eye. 
Hark  !   hark  !   to  God  the  chorus  breaks, 

From  every  host,  from  every  gem  ; 
But  one  alone  the  Saviour  speaks, 

It  is  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

Once  on  the  raging  seas' I  rode: 

The  storm  wan  loud,  the  night  was  dark, 

The  ocean  yawned  and  rudely  blovved 

The  wind  that  tossed  my  found'ring  bark. 

Deep  honor  then  my  vitals  froze; 

Death-struck,  I  ceased  the  tide  to  stem ; 

"When  suddenly  a  star  arose, 
.      It  was  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

It  was  my  guide,  my  light,  my  all ; 
*  It  bade  my  bark  foreboding  cease  ; 
And,  through  the  storm  and  danger's  thrall, 

It  led  me  to  the  port  of  peace. 
Now,  safely  moored,  my  perils  o'er, 

I'll  sing,  first  in  night's  diadem, 
For  ever,  and  for  evermore, 
p  The  Star !— the  Star  of  Bethlehem  ! 

Soldiers'  Tract  Association,  M.  E.  Church,  South. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
PH8.5 


